Short Courses
18 - 23 May 2025
El Conquistador Tucson, A Hilton Resort
Tucson, Arizona USA
Short Courses
Short courses cover a broad range of topic areas at a variety of educational levels (introductory to advanced) and are taught by highly-regarded industry experts. They are an excellent opportunity to learn about new products, cutting-edge technology and vital information at the forefront of your field. They are designed to increase your knowledge of a specific subject while offering you the experience of knowledgeable teachers.
Certificates of Attendance are available for those who register and attend a course. To request a certificate after the course concludes, send an email to cstech@optica.org with your name, course name, conference name and year.
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SC400 - Optical Thickness Monitoring and Enhanced Production Strategies for Optical Coatings
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Florian Carstens, LZH Hannover
Short Course Level: Advanced Beginner
Short Course Description:
Precise thickness monitoring concepts are of key importance for the successful manufacturing of optical coatings, not only, but especially, in case of highly complex thin film designs. This course provides an overview of the different thickness monitoring approaches available today, comprising the basic principles as well as examples of technical implementations. Besides some aspects of conventional non-optical and single-wavelength monitoring solutions, particular focus is given to modern optical monitors covering a broad spectral range.
The course gives background knowledge on different monitoring strategies including examples of thickness determination algorithms applied in recent developments. The advantages of direct monitoring concepts will be discussed and illustrated by practical examples. Regarding technical aspects, the essential parts of thickness monitoring systems will be presented comparing different alternative solutions. This comprises typical light sources, optical components and spectrometers for different wavelength ranges from the UV to the NIR. In addition, adapted monitoring configurations and error handling options as well as hybrid monitoring strategies based on the application of more than one thickness determination approach will be discussed. Also, some aspects of the process control interfaces of the monitoring systems and the deposition plants will be addressed.
Furthermore, detailed information on the integration of thickness monitors in flexible manufacturing concepts will be given. In these adaptive manufacturing environments, tailored computational manufacturing tools are combined with monitor specific on-line re-calculation and design re-optimization modules. Examples will be presented to demonstrate resulting advantages as highest precision and flexibility, increased economic efficiency and shortest product development times.
Short Course Benefits:
This course should enable participants to:
- Compare and evaluate different thickness monitoring concepts with regard to their application
- Discuss basic principles and technical implementations of recent developments in optical thickness monitoring
- Identify sources of error and optimize the process control stability on basis of available in situ data
- Determine the specific advantages of adapted computational manufacturing, on-line re-calculation and on-line design re-optimization tools
This course is intended for anyone who is interested in a detailed overview of the current status of optical thickness monitoring systems for the deposition of optical coatings and the advantages of adaptive manufacturing concepts. It addresses technologists, scientists and students with a background in optical thin films and deposition processes for optical coatings.
Instructor Biography:
Florian Carstens is physicist and head of the Smart Optical Devices Group in the Optical Components Department at Laser Zentrum Hannover, Germany. He has been working in the field of optical thin films for more than 12 years with focus on IAD and IBS deposition processes, in situ process diagnostics, ex situ optic characterization, as well as advanced process control and automation.
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SC482 - Dispersive Optics: Design, Production and Applications
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Volodymyr Pervak , Ludwig Maximilians University and Ultrafast Innovations
Short Course Description:
The short course provides a concise introduction to basic phase characteristics of optical coatings. The main conventions related to the definition of the phase shift on reflection are discussed. Relations for the phase shifts on reflection and transmission for the waves travelling in opposite directions are considered. The phase properties of quarter wave mirrors in the high reflection zones are presented and basic physical limitations connected with these phase properties are discussed. Examples of design problems with simultaneous phase and intensity demands are presented and approaches to solving these problems are discussed. Importance of knowing basic phase properties for the reliable determination of optical parameters of thin films based on spectral ellipsometric data is demonstrated.
The course discusses the main working principal of dispersive mirrors and its design, production and post-production characterization. One of the main problem for dispersive mirrors is un-avoidable GDD oscillations. During the course we will discuss how to suppress and minimize GDD oscillations. Different approaches will be discussed and analyzed: double chirped mirror, complimentary mirror, tilt-interface, back-side coating, double-angled and post-treatment.
The measurement of group delay and group delay dispersion will be discussed as well.
At the end of the course we will concentrate on applications of dispersive mirrors. It is various laser systems. For example,
- Dispersive mirrors for Ti:Sapphire oscillators
- Highly dispersive mirrors for the thin disk oscillators based on Yb:YAG or Cr:ZnSe
- Highly dispersive mirrors for chirp-pulse amplifier and chirp-pulse oscillators
- Broadband dispersive mirrors (double-angled and complementary pairs) for sub-2 fs pulse generation
- Wave synthesizer: generating of any electric field shape of short pulses
- Dispersive mirrors for MIR range
- Non-linear behavior of dispersive mirrors under high intensities
- Laser induced damage threshold of dispersive mirrors
Short Course Benefits:
This course should enable participants to:
- Identify whether formulated demands to optical coating phase properties are realistic and could be in principle achieved
- Compare various approaches to the design of optical coatings with phase demands and to choose the most effective one
- Reliably determine optical parameters of thin films using spectral ellipsometric data
- Compare various approaches to manufacture above mentioned dispersive mirrors to choose the most suitable technologies and best manufacturing methods
Short Course Audience:
The intended audience includes designers of optical coatings, production engineers and technicians. The background required is a general understanding of what are thin films and optical coatings. Prior knowledge of phase properties of multilayers is not essential because the course will start with the basic definitions and then will move step by step to the most challenging modern applications.
Instructor Biography:
Vladimir Pervak has received his PhD in Physics at the Max-Planck-Instiute of Quantum Optics, Germany. Currently, he is leading his team in the research group of Prof. Ferenc Krausz at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. He has more than 300 technical and scientific publications. Vladimir Pervak has demonstrated for the first time the broadest 1.5 octaves dispersive mirrors, pure highly dispersive mirrors compressor, inventor of double angle dispersive mirrors for precise broadband dispersion control with multilayer mirrors produced in a single coating run. His research interests include interference coatings, ultrafast sources and nonlinear optics. He was a course instructor at the OIC 2019 and OIC 2022 and design contest organizer at the OIC 2019 and OIC 2016.
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SC504 - Holistic Approach to Optical Coatings and Filters
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Ludvik Martinu, Polytechnique Montreal
Short Course Description:
Further advances in optical interference coatings (OIC) for their application in optics, optoelectronics and photonics, communication, wearable electronics, energy, biomedicine, space exploration and other fields strongly depend on the development of suitable design concepts, new/novel film materials and fabrication techniques including process control and characterization methods.
Besides appropriate control of the optical constants (refractive index, extinction coefficient, optical loss, etc.), the requirements include enhanced mechanical performance, long-term environmental stability and, frequently, additional functional and multifunctional characteristics (electrical conductivity, gas or vapor permeation, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, etc.) as well as compatibility with specific substrate materials including glass and plastics. Such properties are closely related to the film composition and microstructure and the properties of interfaces that are all dictated by the physical and chemical surface reactions during the film growth.
This course presents the most important elements to account for when considering the complete logistic loop from design to manufacture of OICs. Specifically, it provides a global (holistic) approach based on a broad background with respect to the design concepts, fabrication processes, film materials and microstructure, and the characterization methods, while focusing on the following important aspects:
- Challenges to overcome when seeking judicious solutions for specific OIC applications (0.5 hour)
High performance optical filters vs (relatively) simple antireflective stacks, large area deposition (including roll-to-roll) vs optical components, deposition rate, process control and monitoring, choice of materials, compatibility with ‘difficult substrates’, understanding and control of stress, durability, cost, etc. - Introduction to the optics of thin films and optical coating design (1 hour)
Maxwell equations and electromagnetic waves, admittance, irradiance, reflection and transmission — interfaces and thin films, characteristic matrix, quarter-waves and half-waves, simple filters (antireflective, reflective), oblique incidence and polarization, colors, approaches to filter design. - Processes for optical films and coatings (1 hour)
Effect of energetic reactions at the surface during the film growth using vapor- and plasma-based approaches — Structure zone models and control of microstructure, techniques including evaporation and ion (beam) assisted deposition (IAD or IBAD), magnetron sputtering (MS) including pulsed-discharge processes (from DC to pulsed DC to HiPIMS), (dual) ion beam sputtering ((D)IBS), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-assisted ALD, key process monitoring techniques. - Metrology for OIC (1 hour)
Basic principles, capabilities and limitations — spectrophotometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry, adhesion, stress, wear resistance, industry standards and derived techniques, durability, structure-property relationships. - Specific examples and case studies (0.5 hour)
Practical examples will be chosen from different areas of applications such as antireflective coatings for ophthalmic lenses, interference-based security devices, coatings for architectural glazing, decorative coatings, hard optical coatings, perspectives of nanostructured optical coatings.
This course should enable the attendees to:
- Describe the principles of different deposition techniques for optical films and discuss their advantages for specific applications
- Explain the role of surface reactions in the formation thin film microstructure
- Determine and discuss the relationship between the microstructure and the films’ optical, mechanical and other properties
- Summarize different testing methods for the assessment of the performance of optical coatings
- Understand the criteria to consider when designing OIC for specific optical applications
This course is intended for technologists, engineers, students, researchers, as well as managers who wish to obtain a condensed and global overview of the optics of thin films, processes, materials and characterization techniques related to the fabrication of OIC and their optimization for various applications from the research and industrial points of view. Familiarity with basic concepts of electromagnetism, optics and materials engineering would be helpful but not necessary.
Instructor Biography:
Ludvik Martinu is Professor at Polytechnique Montreal, Canada, in the Department of Engineering Physics, Polytechnique Chair in Multifunctional Coatings and Surface Engineering, and Director of the Thin Film Science and Technology Research Center on the Campus of the University of Montreal. He obtained his Master’s and PhD degrees from Charles University in Prague. After joining Polytechnique Montreal, Canada in 1988, he became Professor in 1994, and he served as Head of the Department of Engineering Physics in 2004-2010. He has been strongly involved in the scientific societies, in particular as President and Vice-President of the Society of Vacuum Coaters (2010-2016). His main research interests are surface engineering, optical, tribological and multifunctional thin films and coatings, plasma processing of materials and development of university-industry partnerships. His activities resulted in more than 420 publications in refereed journals, book chapters and conference proceedings, and in 22 patents and more than 80 invited, keynote and plenary lectures at international conferences. He is recipient of numerous special awards including those from the SVC, AVS, NSERC and recently the Polytechnique’s Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation.
- Challenges to overcome when seeking judicious solutions for specific OIC applications (0.5 hour)
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SC505 - New Spectrophotometric Tools for the Optical Characterization of High-Performance Interference Filters
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Michel Lequime, Institute Fresnel
Short Course Description:
Since the end of the 1990s, the simultaneous availability of powerful optical filter design software and reliable thin-film deposition techniques using energetic processes such as ion beam assistance, ion beam sputtering or magnetron sputtering have made possible the manufacture of high-performance optical interference coatings comprising a great number of layers, from one hundred up to a few thousand. For highly demanding applications such as observation of the Earth from space, wavelength multiplexing of high data rate optical telecommunications channels, study of the organization of living matter at the cellular scale or interferometric detection of gravitational waves, it is necessary to confirm by very accurate measurements the theoretical figures provided by the design, especially for some key filter parameters like optical density in the blocking regions (OD 0 to OD 12), steepness of band edges (less than 0.5%) or wavelength and angle resolved scattering (ARS down to 10-8 sr-1).
Short Course Benefits:
The objective of this course is first to recall some fundamentals on the detection of optical signals, and second to use these basics to explain the structure and the performances of spectrophotometric apparatus developed in the three following goals
- Ultra-wide range measurement of the spectral transmittance of optical interference filters (transmittance level as low as 10-13)
- Angle and wavelength resolved measurement of the light scattered by optical components (incoherent and coherent schemes)
- Detection of localized defects at the surface of a plane optical window using spatially and angularly resolved detection of scattered light
This course is of use for anyone who are interested in the development of high-level spectrophotometric instrumentation. It is addressed to junior and senior scientists as well as to engineer and science students of higher terms.
Instructor Biography:
Michel Lequime is Eméritus Professor at Centrale Marseille, a French engineer high school and senior scientist in the Concept team of Institut Fresnel. Currently, his research interests concern the comprehensive characterization of optical components through spatially and angularly resolved light scattering. He is credited with 26 patents and more than 300 publications and presentations in the areas of non-linear optics, space optics, fiber optic sensors, scattering phenomena and optical interference coatings. He is a member of Optica and SPIE, and has served as Secretary of the Board of the French Optical Society (SFO, 2009-13).
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SC535 - Technology Overview and Current Trends in ION Beam Sputtering Optical Coatings
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Kai Starke, Cutting Edge Coatings
Short Course Level: Beginner
Short Course Description:
Ion beam sputtering (IBS) is widely known as the technology to produce functional coatings that has highest reachable optical performance specifications. IBS is the reference for lowest optical losses — i.e., losses in absorptance and scattering limiting the functionality of coatings in laser applications. The cleanliness and cosmetic appearance of IBS coatings in terms of particle contamination are unsurpassed and open up ways of new applications in high-level research and industry. In combination with advanced optical monitoring techniques, IBS is capable of producing most complex thin-film filters automatically, unmanned and without necessary re-optimization.
Being a niche deposition technology over decades for high-end optics having small geometric dimensions, ion beam sputtering showed relatively small areas of uniform thickness distribution. The long-lasting disadvantage has been resolved recently by a new generation of large box coaters. This groundbreaking development of IBS towards large objects gives way to a wide application field where up to now only evaporation systems were capable of. Examples of ion beam sputtered coatings on optics up to meter-scale will be presented in this short course. Besides activities on scalability of ion beam sputtering processes, new trends in layer stacks with nanometer and sub-nanometer thicknesses will be illustrated. These so-called quantum nanolaminates benefit from physical light-matter interaction beyond interference effects described in classical matrix formalism and are breaking up the linkage between material band-gap and refractive index. Because of separation of process components, ion beam sputtering is well suited to lift the potential of this innovative technique.
Short Course Benefits:
- Describe the fundamental process steps to form dielectric thin films by ion beam sputtering
- Explain how process parameters influence the quality characteristics with regard to laser applications
- Demonstrate size-scaling and current technological limitations
- Summarize the achievements on quantum nanolaminates and discuss determine the position of this novel technique in the bunch of PVD processes
Kai Starke, born 1971, is a researcher and entrepreneur residing in Hanover, Germany. After studying physics in Bielefeld and Hannover, he started his research work in IBS optical coatings in the late 1990s. Working one decade at Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. as researcher and group leader, he founded Cutting Edge Coatings GmbH as a spin-off company in 2007. Dr. Starke and his team at CEC is active in numerous national and European research activities improving IBS coating processes.
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SC536 - Multilayer Optics for the EUV and X-ray Wavelength Range
Sunday, 18 May
Instructor: Marcelo Ackermann, University of Twente
Short Course Description:
Thin film optics for short wavelengths, from the EUV to the X-ray regime, require particular design and material selection to achieve high reflectivity. The high absorption of materials and shallow refractive index in this wavelength regime dictates that traditional lenses are not usable, and all optics design is based on reflective optics (i.e., mirrors). These mirrors must also be coated with a wavelength-specific multilayer stack to form a so-called Bragg mirror, where constructive interference is needed to achieve high reflectivity. In addition to the multilayer design, mirror quality (low roughness) and deposition conditions (sub-nm interface roughness and intermixing) are also essential to producing good EUV and X-ray optics.
In this course, I will present the physics of Soft X-ray or EUV multilayer design, explain basic materials selection rules and calculate theoretical reflectivity limits based on material properties like absorption and complex refractive index. I will present the effect of interfacial roughness and intermixing on the thin film growth and deposition, as well as strategies to minimize this to achieve world-record reflectivity for such multilayers.
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Short Course Description:
The increase in energy, power and repetition rate of high power laser facilities requires the development of coatings for optical components with high laser damage resistance in order to avoid laser damage phenomena characterized by an initial damage initiation phase followed by a damage growth phase during subsequent laser irradiations. These coatings are used at different wavelengths (from near infrared to deep UV), with different pulse lengths (from ns to fs), in different environments (from ambient air to vacuum), with different laser repetition rates, and depending on the desired optical function, these coatings are used in reflection or transmission. Thus, depending on all of these parameters, it is necessary to select the appropriate coatings that will provide the desired optical function while ensuring high resistance to laser-induced damage, in other words a high laser damage threshold.
In this course, we will review the different optical coatings that are used on high power laser facilities. We will present the laser damage mechanisms related to these coatings, which will allow us to adress the phenomenology of laser damage in order to select the most relevant coatings for the chosen application. The course will also focus on laser damage metrology. The different test procedures (1-on1; S-on-1; R(S)-on-1; rasterscan) will be presented in detail in order to be able to measure damage thresholds in an accurate and relevant way with respect to the needs and also in order to be able to discriminate the quality of different coatings. The question of the representativeness of these tests, which are generally carried out with small beams on specific benches, will also be addressed. Finally, the various factors that cause damage to these coatings will be presented, along with some solutions that can be used to mitigate the damage.
Short Course Benefits:
The aim of this course is to enable participants to better adress the problem of laser damage to high power laser facilties, and then to be able to select the appropriate coatings with regard to this problem and the lasers used.
Short Course Audience:
This course will be useful to anyone designing high-power laser facilities and to those operating these high-power lasers. It will adress the issue of laser damage in order to better control it, while also providing solutions based on a relevant choice of coatings in relation to the laser parameters. The concepts presented will also be useful to novice and experienced scientists as well as to engineering and higher-level science students.
Instructor Biography:
Laurent Lamaignère has worked at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commissions(CEA) for 25 years. He is currently responsible for a laboratory that controls the quality of optical components that equip the LMJ-PETAL high-power laser facility. It is in this context that he has conducted his expertise in laser damage by contributing to the development of the CEA's laser damage benches and by implementing original test procedures related to optical coatings optimized for the LMJ-PETAL facility. His work has also been carried out through the supervision of around ten doctoral students and several undergraduates. Through his expertise, he contributes to the drafting of laser damage standards within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
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Short Course Description:
Thin-film design allows us to develop prescribed thicknesses of specified materials to be deposited, in order to achieve the desired coating performance. However, the errors present in the deposition process must be carefully weighed in order to move the desired design successfully through production.
Thin-film uniformity is a critical aspect of the error budget for most deposition processes. Care should be taken to properly place and characterize sources, design substrate rotation fixtures, design/install uniformity masks and properly account for non-planar substrates. Ideally, the intended application of a coating system would inform the initial design and process geometry, in order to minimize film nonuniformity and maximize production yields.
This course will address key issues for the uniform deposition of evaporated optical coatings, including both theoretical and practical considerations:
- Assumptions in uniformity calculations
- Consistency and repeatability
- Line of sight and deviations
- Integration versus summation in thickness calculations
- Symmetry in sources, substrates and motion
- Calculations of coating thickness
- Movement systems for substrates
- Single-axis rotation (planar, domed, pyramidal)
- Planetary rotation (planar or non-planar substrates, tilted planets)
- Translation system – linear and drum rotations
- Evaluation of uniformity
- Source characterization
- Mask design
- Errors in substrate motion, and the corresponding impact on system design and fabrication
- Intentional nonuniformity (graded or stepped films)
This course should enable participants to determine the uniformity performance of a given system, compare different system configurations and design an optimal configuration for a given application.
Short Course Audience:
This course is intended for technical individuals familiar with thin-film deposition, particularly via evaporation processes. A basic familiarity with substrates, fixturing and coating chamber components is assumed. Calculations are based on coordinate geometry and standard formulas, with minimal use of advanced mathematics.
Instructor Biography:
James Oliver is founder and president of Vacuum Innovations. He has over 30 years of experience in optical coating design, processes and equipment. He spent over 20 years at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics working on fusion-laser coatings. He has focused on advanced thin-film uniformity modeling, high laser-damage threshold coatings and various specialty applications. Oliver has published numerous papers and taught courses on thin-film design, uniformity and laser damage.
- Assumptions in uniformity calculations
